Other primates and mice followed, and the Soviet Union a few years later joining the animal space race when nine dogs went skyward aboard rockets.

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That is just when the European Commission is due to start talks with Cyprus over its joining the Union.

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When people can patiently assess what, if anything, they might gain from joining a union, they usually conclude they're better off not doing it.

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Not to mention that when joining a company, especially a large company, they will be entering into a union that will demand (and no doubt get) a measure of fidelity and sacrifice greater than that they will afford to marriage.

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